From Data to Decisions: How Technology Helps Companies Use Their Own Knowledge

Companies can spend years collecting figures without knowing which projects actually make money. One research firm did just that, tracking working time and costs while lacking a clear view of project profitability. Once the information was organized, it found unprofitable assignments, ended one cooperation and renegotiated rates for others.

That example captures the argument made by Maciej Kemnitz, CEO of Primotly, and Paweł Feliński, its head of delivery. Data becomes useful only when it changes a decision. A new metric should therefore prompt a basic question: what action will follow from monitoring it? If the answer is none, tracking the metric consumes time and resources without a clear return.

Numbers also need context. A fall in website visits does not automatically show whether a company should change its search-engine optimization strategy or increase its advertising budget. In the same way, another report or dashboard has no value simply because it exists. Feliński says organizations should judge the quality of their data by asking what they recently did because of it, rather than how much data they possess.

The two executives also caution against treating AI as the starting point. Before automating a process, a company needs to understand how it works, who makes decisions, what information they use and where the decision sits within the organization. Feliński describes this as “first the brain, then the technology.” Giving a model access to a random dataset and asking it to “do something with it” will not solve an undefined business problem.

Kemnitz approaches the issue through business, strategy and technology, while Feliński combines product thinking with a systems perspective. Their shared view is that IT creates value only when it addresses a real problem and helps the company operate better. That principle also shapes Primotly’s work, from discovery and research and development to product building, expansion and long-term support.

“

First the brain, then the technology.